Comic review – Punks the Comic vol 1: Nutpuncher

Comic review – Punks the Comic vol 1: Nutpuncher

The book’s subtitle is Nutpuncher. That should tell you a whole lot right off the bat. Punks the Comic volume 1 shouldn’t be allowed to have a subtitle because ‘subtitle’ shares too many letters with ‘subtle’ and this is a book that is anything but. There are too many self-serious, ponderous comics — and too many self-serious, ponderous people making them (do you read Twitter or Tumblr?) — and Punks the Comic (referred to hereafter in the review as Punks) is a punch right in their nuts. It is drop-dead hilarious, and like nothing else on the stands. Punks is about — well, punks. In this case, it’s Abe, Fist, Dog, and Skull, four best friends (who hate each other) living under the same roof. The comedy is free-wheeling and random; what goes on rarely makes sense, and the book revels in this. Fans of Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, Regular Show, and the general new wave of comedy will find themselves right at home, watching the inhabitants of the house punching each other in the nuts, setting each other on fire, and, in general, acting like fools. Joshua Fialkov has hit on something truly special with the tone he’s chosen to take here. Kody Chamberlain’s art sets the book apart from the crop right away. The color rarely breaks away from paper-bag brown, and only for dramatic effect. Everything’s done in a collage style that shows just how strongly Chamberlain — a talented pencil and ink artist — knows his craft; there would be a lot of room for this book to be stiff, stilted, and hard to read, but everything flows. We’re lucky to be living in a time where a comic like this can exist and find an audience. Image is putting out a diverse, adventurous roster of books, and the most impressive thing is that no two are alike. Punks is one of the most unique books that Image publishes: the art style isn’t something that we see, full-stop; it’s funny without being apologetic for the humor; the book has an identity all its own. Also: Sean Connery shows up. How can you say no to that?